What is an Audit?

An audit is simply an exercise in checking that your company is actually doing what it says it is doing. Auditing is a prudent exercise for all businesses because it independently verifies your financials and your internal processes, which means that third parties can now trust the data as complete and accurate.  

Every auditor enters an audit with a ‘prove it’ mindset.

You say you spent $175,000 on legal fees last year.  Prove it.

You say that all payments over $10,000 require two managers to sign off.  Prove it.

You say that this vendor you pay every month provides “IT consulting”. Prove it.

The type of proof an auditor is looking for is referred to as ’supporting materials’ which basically means verifiable paperwork that supports the transaction. In the case of Accounts Payable, this would mean expense invoices, approvals for payments and actual payments made from company bank accounts. Sometimes, the auditor will telephone a vendor (called a ‘conference’) to confirm the nature of their business and the details on the invoice.

The Random Sample  

Obviously, it would be impossible for an auditor to check every invoice, expense and bank payment for a given company, therefore they use various sampling techniques, the most common of which is the ‘random sample’.  In this scenario, the auditor randomly chooses a number of transactions then requests supporting materials for each.

Each transaction will include invoices, approvals, payment requests, bank statements and more, therefore one audit can equate to a request for hundreds of documents.

For smaller start-ups that may not yet have centralized filing systems or tight payment processes, finding and then pulling together these documents can be time-consuming and frustrating. And in the case that some documents cannot be found at all, well that’s even worse.

Glean AI is an auditor’s dream

Because Glean AI is a central repository of all company expense documentation, assembling a package of supporting materials for an auditor is no longer a days-long scavenger hunt filled with frustrations. Instead, it can be completed with a few mouse clicks. It really is that simple.

And it gets better.

With Glean AI, you are able to go into the system, mark the transactions that were requested by the auditor, then simply give the auditor their own Glean login. They will have everything they need, all accessible via Glean’s easy-to-navigate dashboard.

The auditor will be able to easily find each transaction, substantiate that it was real, see who approved it, see the dates of approval and see the payment method. This is completed without stacks of printed papers, without zip files filled with random spreadsheets and without missing pieces that require follow up.

Glean AI allows your auditor to focus on the work they’ve been hired for — namely, analyzing and verifying data and processes — versus paper shuffling. It really is an auditor’s dream come true.

Welcome your next audit with Glean AI

With Glean AI, you can actually stop dreading your next audit. Instead, you and your team can eagerly anticipate it — after all, an audit is an excellent way to proactively identify issues and improve your finance team’s internal processes.

Glean AI gives you peace of mind that you’re 100% ready for your next internal or external audit. To learn more about Glean AI or to schedule a demo or trial, please contact us at hello@glean.ai.

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